Reply to Paul Danish "Go Nuclear" column in Colorado Daily

• May 2, 2007
• Tom McKinnon
• Boulder Daily Camera

I would like to applaud Paul Danish for suggesting that Boulder take the bold step of generating all its electricity from non-carbon sources. His modest proposal is to go nuclear. The idea would have been even better if Mr. Danish hadn't strayed so far from his libertarian roots. Rather than flogging a set technology, libertarians would instead set the desired outcome (no greenhouse gases) and then seek the least-cost option to get there. If nukes want to compete to be least cost, quoting W, bring em on. We will find that solar power starts to look pretty good relative to splitting atoms.
But before we let nukes and solar duke it out, we need to level the playing field. The radioactive corner must (a) pay for the environmental damage from uranium mining, (b) account for the cost of decommissioning plants, (c) pay the true cost of safe waste disposal, and (d) pay for risk management.
Few people are aware that the Price-Anderson Act lets the nuclear industry get off virtually Scott free if a plant goes boom. Guess who pays the damages? Once we account for the costs, we'd find that nukes are no bargain. Do we have any other options? Concentrating solar power (CSP), electricity from sunlight, mirrors, and steam, can pump juice into the grid at competitive rates - now!
Looking west to California we see over 1,000 megawatts of CSP purchase power agreements signed by major utilities. And unlike waiting the 20 years that Mr. Danish tells us it will take for nuke power to arrive, we could begin seeing results from CSP in just two or three. So, if Mr. Danish is truly interested in helping Boulder make major cuts in greenhouse gases, I suggest he hook up with Clean Energy Action and work to implement solutions that will actually succeed.